Silver Wings
by Silver-mist143
Summary: A lil action, a lil romance, and a new character to spice up a great story! woohoo! a new pilot appears after a short period of tension filled peace. Lots of drama and of course, all the old people are back. Just pretend the Gundams were never destroyed..
1. Some FYI and legal junk

Hello all! This is Silver_mist thanking you in advance for being interested in Silver Wings. Well, you're probably more interested in the Gundam Wing story, but hey, I'll thank you anyway!  
  
Beware! I do not own Gundam Wing or any of the Gundam characters in it. The plot and additional characters are of my imagination, so please no stealing. ^-^ There are multiple references to the Gundam Wing series, Endless Waltz, and Episode 00 (manga) so there are spoilers ahead. Just to let you know.  
  
Alright, enjoy, and if you want me to keep going, just send me some pretty comments. :) lots of love!  
  
Silver_mist 


	2. The Beginning of the End

Chapter One  
  
Click.  
  
Ivory paused and pushed away from her laptop. She turned slowly, having a sinking feeling enter her stomach. Ivory raised her eyes to the barrel of a gun, pointed straight at her forehead. A Gundam pilot? Her captor motioned for silence and to rise. As she stood, he grabbed Ivory's forearm and pulled her to the door. He was tall and quite strong, but considerate enough to not cut the circulation to the rest of her arm. His hair was long in front and it swept across his face, masking the right side. Ivory wanted to ask if he used gel in his hair, but felt it wasn't an appropriate time to ask, being his hostage and all. She made sure her gun was secure in the holster and followed.  
She thought he was the pilot of the Gundam labeled 04. He pulled Ivory down the maze of hallways with a sense of urgency. She only resisted when she heard the voices of soldiers but he pushed Ivory in front of him and started to jog. Ivory knew silence what key to her survival and believed being alive was better than trying to fight. But on rounding a corner, alarms went off and shouting ensued. He started to run, and Ivory had to follow. He grabbed both her hands tightly and raced for the next wing.  
The mysterious brown haired boy pushed her out the back door of the base and into the passenger seat of an idling large truck. She tried to run but he used his body weight to shove her in. Ivory yelled but the alarms were too loud for anyone to notice. He vaulted in behind her and yelled "GO!" Another pilot, the pilot of 02, stomped on the accelerator and through the open gates of the Barton estate. Her kidnapper jumped into the back of the truck where Ivory heard the clicking of a keyboard and a series of beeps.  
With her arm free, Ivory reached for the handle to the door and the locks slammed down. The driving pilot tipped his cap to her. Ivory glared at him as she raised the lock, just as the Barton estate exploded. She sat in a moment of shock before Ivory screamed. She huddled into the chair and looked at the pilot. "What's going on?" she yelled.  
"Hey! Did you check her for a bug? Or a tracking device?" the driver said. He nodded at Ivory. "It's just a precautionary thing. We're not going to rape you or anything." Before she could think, the pilot who kidnapped Ivory hustled her into the back of the truck. He pulled out a pair of jeans and a button down blouse.  
"You have to undress." Ivory shot him a defiant look. "No." "Don't make this hard on yourself. I don't want to hurt you." Ivory glared. "Do your worst."  
"The Barton uniform. It has to go. I know it's got a homing device in the cufflinks and a mike in the pin. Who knows what else you've got on you." She made no response. There was a homing device and a mike in the pin of her lapel, but with the Barton building destroyed, it wasn't any good unless another soldier was within three miles of her. But they were all dead.  
Ivory suddenly reached for the right side of her waist. Her holster was empty. The pilot waved around the characteristic Barton utilitarian gun in his left hand. "Looking for this?"  
When Ivory made no move, Trowa switched the gun to his right hand and cocked it. "I promise I won't stare, but the uniform's got to go. And before you change into the other stuff, I have to glance you over once and you're good to go.  
"You DO realize that I could have an internal device or something in my underwear. I'm not the average soldier Mr. Gundam Pilot."  
Trowa smiled. "I used to work for the Barton's too. They wouldn't make anything special that they couldn't use on everyone. And they would never put anything inside you." Now the smiled faded and he pointed the gun at her head again. "I'll turn around and look through the mirror if you're shy. But you have to do it."  
Ivory shot him a venom glance and turned her back to him. She started to unbutton the jacket and swung around to kick him in the head. He read her easily. He caught her foot and flipped her, crashing Ivory into the floor. He pulled her arms behind her and pressed the gun to the back of her head.  
"Is everything okay back there guys?" the driver called back.  
"Change." Trowa let Ivory up, making sure to tug on her arms a little to make his point. "Don't make me do it for you." Ivory undressed and spun slowly so he could see. Ivory glared at him defiantly through the mirror, regardless of her nakedness but she had nothing to hide. But she dressed as fast as she could, feeling slightly violated. Ivory kept her back to him as Trowa collected her uniform and locked them in a safe. Trowa could feel his blood race a little faster as he watched her surreptitiously, but she couldn't know that.  
"I don't see what you're so embarrassed about." He half smiled. "You can go back and sit up front again with Duo. If you need me, just look back here." Ivory didn't meet his gaze, but nodded. He was stronger than her and the skirmish definitely left a few bruises. But that being the first time someone ever looked at her without a scientific reason, made her slightly uncomfortable. And by not meeting his eyes, she noticed an extra bulge in his pants that wasn't there before. She blushed in anger and a little shame, resenting her moment of negligence in her room.  
Ivory slid back into the passenger seat and looked out the window. After an hour she asked, "Why am I here? And why did you guys take me?"  
"What are you talking about? We saved you from the Bartons. You would have exploded back there if it wasn't for us!"  
  
"You're probably the ones that set the bombs to go off. Why take me? I have no use for you!" Ivory spat. "Bring me back to the base!"  
Duo hesitated. "We'll tell you later Lin." A bell went off in her head.  
"Lin?"  
"Lin Choi? Everyone knows who you are."  
"Lin Choi died AC 195. Lin Choi doesn't exist! She's a martyr for the colonies. You must have me confused for some other soldier."  
"I disagree. You're sitting here in front of me right?"  
Ivory raised an eyebrow. "I'm not Lin."  
Duo pulled out a file about half an inch thick and tossed it into her lap. The folder included information on the Barton estate, the operation Ivory was working for, and surprisingly, all the information on Lin Choi. But where all normal files ended, it continued into HER life. There were pictures of Ivory on the street, her Barton files and reports, and her itinerary of that day. The file was complete, but all the information about the patriotic death of Lin was missing. Instead, it included files about her hospitalization and injuries suffered from a building explosion the day Lin Choi supposedly died in battle for the colonies.  
"Don't worry. We're not going to kill you. You have another purpose." Ivory kept reading. Watching the pictures of "Lin" getting older, name changes, how she changed her age. Everything looked complete. The Barton's file on Ivory didn't contain even this amount of care. Ivory didn't understand how they got so much information, but none of it could be true.  
Meanwhile, the pilot in the back kept typing. "He's probably looking at a secret recording of me undressing," Ivory thought. She felt exposed. 


	3. New Wounds

Chapter 2  
  
Ivory didn't realize she fell asleep in the truck until they came to a halt. Now, her hands were bound behind her back. In her sleep, they must have put some sort of handcuff on her wrists. Ivory yelled at the guys to let her go, but they didn't look at her. Both of them got out of the truck and went to talk to a guy in a lab coat. As Ivory simmered, she took note that this seemed to be a government building. The Preventers.  
As they finished talking, Ivory shot both of them a death glare. They pulled her out of the truck and through the maximum security walls. Ivory felt like she was being put on a death march through the monotonous halls of the building. She was being directed from behind, so Ivory didn't know who was taking her where. A door slid open and Ivory was pushed through and sat in the chair. The walls were reflective glass, the kind you could see through from one side, but were just mirrors on her side. Her wrists chafed under the shackle and Ivory wanted to get out of there. The intercom buzzed like a bad TV show.  
"Are you Lin Choi?"  
"No."  
"State your name."  
"Ivory Jung." She had a strong urge to say, "Bond. James Bond," but didn't find that very wise.  
"What is your position in the Barton estate?"  
"I'm a soldier and computer techie. I used to program Mobile Dolls until it went out of fashion." Ivory was pretty sure the person back there was a woman. "Maybe its Lady Une or one of the other Preventer higher ups," she thought.  
"Did you ever pilot a Serpent?" (Author note: Serpents were the MS that were used by Dekim in Endless Waltz) Lady Une pinched the bridge of her nose and waited for Ivory to respond.  
"I have never piloted a Serpent."  
Une spoke again. "Did you help create them?"  
"Yes. I programmed their memory and fighting programs." "All this information was inside the files. Why bother asking? They had all the information on me, so there doesn't seem to be a point in interrogation," she thought.  
"Are you, Lin Choi, the pilot of the Halcyon?"  
Ivory paused. This was new. "How did they know about the Halcyon? And how did they connect me with Lin? Where did they get this information?" Ivory took a breath  
"I am not Lin Choi."  
"Are you the pilot of the Halcyon?" Ivory made no response. Some of this battle training had to come in use sometime. After a minute, the voice asked again.  
"Are you the pilot of the Halcyon, the Mobile Suit made by the Barton Foundation? The Mobile Suit meant to destroy the Gundams?"  
Again, Ivory made no reply. But how had they known? After another minute, the shackle that bound her hands together clinked apart. Ivory didn't hide her confusion. She let the shackle fall to the floor with a "clang" and stood up, massaging her wrists. The door behind her whooshed open and Quatre, the heir to the Winner estate, beckoned Ivory to follow. What was up?  
Quatre kept up a cheery monologue as he led Ivory to another room. It was a sparse bedroom, similar to the bunker she slept in at the Barton estate, only now there was just one bed. Quatre pointed out a closet where there were clothes for her and the bathroom. Ivory also noted that there were no windows. So much for an escape. Quatre told her that he was on watch and he'd be in the hallway if Ivory needed anything. Duo would come by an hour later and relieve him. Ivory nodded and went in the bathroom. She heard the door close as Quatre left her to her privacy. Ivory also heard the door lock when it closed. Definitely no escape route.  
Ivory turned on the water to scalding hot and grabbed some clothes. Even though the only people she'd seen so far were male, whoever stocked her closet remembered the feminine essentials. Ivory stepped into the shower and thought of a plan. Whatever happened, she had to get out and get to space. There was a broken colony that the remaining Bartons were camped out in, and with headquarters destroyed, they were defenseless. True, the Bartons were up to no good, but they were like her family and to let a few hundred soldiers die out there was atrocious. Ivory felt that she had to help.  
  
-------  
  
Heero got out of the pink limo and opened the door on the other side. A dainty shoe poked out and Relena Darlian, formerly Relena Peacecraft, stepped out. She was wearing less formal attire, but the matter at hand was still government business. It simply required less elegant dress. Relena and Heero walked into the building together. He still didn't show any indication of his infatuation; however, it was well known that they were an "item." They spoke little but the messages were clear. It seemed the couple had developed their own language. Heero placed Relena's luggage in a spare room. She smiled endearingly and Heero showed the faintest of blushes. He was poised to leave and took his own duffel bag in hand. "I'd prefer that you stay in my room instead of somewhere else Heero. Even though it's a Preventer building, I don't want to take a chance." Heero smiled and kicked the door closed. "Why is that?" Heero asked. "I'm afraid someone might come in unwanted." Heero trapped Relena against the wall. "The only one you need to be afraid of is me." He kissed her lightly and Relena smiled. She took his head in her hands and guided him for another, deeper kiss. His hands found her waist and he pushed her against the wall, forcing a small moan out of Relena. They continued to kiss deeply until a knock disturbed them. "Hey guys! Une needs to see Relena!" Wufei passed the room and Relena let out a giggle. She led Heero by the hand out to the hallway, where once again, their relationship became reticent.  
  
-------  
  
Quatre pulled out his handheld computer and started playing chess with it. Quatre knew that the mysterious girl within the room was a pilot of a new Gundam. They didn't know if it still existed, but it was a threat. And a new Gundam would mean another uprising, with no other Gundams to defend the people. But what did the scientists want with that girl?  
Quatre moved his pawn to block a knight and thought. Politics were confusing but something was going on. Just what?  
From within the room, a short cry and a bump was heard. Quatre leapt to his feet and barged though the door. Something was wrong. The door to the bathroom was closed. He called to Ivory but there wasn't a sound from inside. Quatre put his hand to the doorknob and pulled slowly. He peeked around the crack and saw red liquid all over the floor. "Somebody! Help!!!" he called, before flinging the door wide open. Ivory lay face down on the floor, blood gushing from her left shoulder. Quatre tried not to notice that she was naked on the cold tiles and looked quite good from behind. He tossed a towel over her and rolled her over. It looked like a bullet wound that went straight through her back and out the front of her very shapely chest. Quatre blushed and focused on trying to stop the bleeding. It looked like Ivory passed out and had no intention of waking up. Quatre cradled her in his arms and made sure the towel was secure. He picked Ivory up and started running for the infirmary. As Quatre left, Trowa went inside the room to investigate. He eyed the bathroom suspiciously. There was no lock on the door and anyone could have gotten in. But how? Trowa looked around and noticed a screw lying on the floor. Directly above it was a vent. The vent was large enough for a person to jump through and obviously not very secure. Without a second thought, he pulled the vent off and vaulted through the hole.  
  
-------  
  
Quatre ran through the hallways and laid her on a stretcher. "SALLY!!" He opened the drawers and looked for gauze. As Sally ran through the door, pulling on gloves, Quatre already was checking Ivory for vital signs. She breathed shallowly and Sally fitted an oxygen mask over her mouth. Quatre watched as Sally took control of the situation. He felt rather useless but felt relieved that she would be okay. He blamed himself for not getting there sooner and Ivory getting hurt. Who shot her? What happened in that bathroom?  
  
Sally nodded at Quatre and motioned for him to leave. He looked a little upset, but knew he shouldn't be there anyway. "Get another shirt," mouthed Sally, gesturing at the blood stained pink sleeves. He nodded and left the room. He took off his shirt and vest as he got outside and walked to him room to change. Wufei passed and grunted. Quatre rubbed his eyes and locked the door to his room. He pulled out more clothes and changed slowly, thinking about what just happened.  
  
-------  
  
Trowa pulled himself around metal corners silently, hearing the sound of fabric on metal not far away. He heard the roar of traffic nearby and believed he was close to the north wall. He heard running now, and sprinted after the attacker. He grabbed the arm of the person running in a tan and black uniform. "Barton!" he thought. Trowa turned the person around, blocked a punch and looked at the green eyes of another black haired girl. She tried to kick him, but he was too tall. Instead, she stepped on his hand and threw herself over him in a tight flip. She kicked the back of Trowa's head and ran off into the traffic. Trowa fell hard on the pavement and looked to the road, knowing for sure he couldn't catch her. 


	4. Secrets

Chapter Three  
  
Ivory woke up slowly, the images around her blurry. Quatre smiled above her. "Feel okay?" he asked. Ivory nodded a little and tried to sit up. She discovered her left arm was in a sling. Quatre helped her sit upraight and stuffed a pillow behind her back. Sitting up made her a little dizzy. Her shoulder ached a little. She reached to rub it, but Quatre pulled her hand away. "You have to let it heal. Touching it won't make it better." "What happened?" She thought back and remembered how she got there, who he was, and all. But what happened after the shower? And why did she hurt so much? "You were shot. Trowa says it was a girl in a Barton uniform. You've been asleep for two days, but you're healing okay. It will be another day before Sally lets you out." Ivory nodded. She was in her room, the one with no windows or escape route. Ivory felt trapped. All she wanted was to get out. But who was the girl that shot her? Did the Barton's send an assassin? Why? She felt extremely confused. She wasn't even sure why she was there to begin with. Did the Barton's think she was a traitor? At that moment, Lady Une walked in with a file, Ivory's most likely, and a clipboard. She asked Quatre to leave and sat in his chair. They stared at each other for a moment, sizing each other up. Une backed down first, turning back to the files she had on her lap. "Tell me about you," Une asked. "Everything you remember." Ivory stayed silent. She searched Une's face for any hints of what she expected. "Why?" Une stared back. "We have reason to believe you're a threat to the free world." "And telling anecdotes about my past is going to prove anything?" Ivory spat sarcastically. "What do you want? And why should I tell you?" Une tapped her pen. She pondered a moment, not sure what to say. She hesitated before she spoke. "We have the Halcyon under custody. The pilots are running checks and maintenance. We need to know if you'll pilot it." Ivory stared back. "So you destroy the Barton's, kidnap me, and expect me to work for you?" She was appalled. Surely the Preventers wouldn't be so stupid. "The Barton base was not targeted by us, but by the Barton colony base. They were after you." Ivory raised an eyebrow. "I don't believe you." "I didn't think you would." Une threw the folder into Ivory's lap. "Read that. I'll be back in a few hours."  
  
-------  
  
The pilots and Sally sat around a dimly lit table in comfortable silence. Wufei dealt cards and Duo took a sip of his beer. They stayed silent except for the snapping of cards and clinks of glass. Each took their hand in stride, taking note of each pilot's winnings and sleeves to make sure nobody cheated. Trowa gulped down a shot of tequila and tossed out some poker chips. Quatre folded but the rest tossed in chips too. Heero raised Trowa's proposition with five more chips and the four displayed their cards. Duo cheered as he raked in the chips while the others sneered at his luck. Sally finished the last of her beer and stood up to stretch. Une walked in and grabbed an iced tea from the refrigerator. The cap popped and she drank a good half bottle before she sat on the counter. Wufei continued to shuffle cards with an annoying snapping sound, but nobody seemed to care. Quatre turned to Une. "How is she?" Une looked up surprised. "Oh, she seems okay. She's reading the Barton file now. The room's locked from the outside, so you guys can go look if your curiosity leads you." Une finished the last of her iced tea. "I think she might be a little lonely and we have to make sure she doesn't escape the same way the Barton assassin did." "I welded the vent to the ceiling. There's no way she can get out," Trowa responded. "But I'll take first shift guard duty." The other pilots agreed and Wufei would relieve him around 3 AM. They dispersed quietly, heading to their respective rooms to get some shuteye not knowing what lay ahead.  
  
-------  
  
Ivory leafed through the heavy file, knowing this was the end of everything she ever worked for. It contained information on the Barton foundation and the space colony they currently occupied. Mixed in with descriptions and blueprints were pages about the foundation higher ups and biographies on major people to know. She got bored of the file and was about to put it away when a yellow post-it note poked through the side. Ivory turned to the indicated page and read:  
  
Project Viper  
  
Objective: To remove Barton land base 001 and overthrow  
ideals of Barton foundation. To establish new order of Viper  
and infiltrate world government.  
  
At 1200 hours, Barton land base, located Tokyo Japan, to be  
exploded from within. Using T57 bombs concealed in steel  
briefcases, bombs will be detonated from colony X198...  
  
She continued to leaf through the new information, taking in the idea that someone planned all this quite carefully. There was no indication of who headed the Viper project or what they planned to do now. Where did this information come from? And what did she have to do with the whole thing?  
...During the infiltration of the Barton estate to plant said  
briefcases, two members of the Vipers, namely Ang Cho and Meike  
Hines, will take Ivory Jung, pilot of the Halcyon under custody.  
After confirmation of Jung's departure, the bombs will be  
detonated. Cho and Hines will deliver Jung to Viper base to undergo  
retraining. The Halcyon will be destroyed. After detonation, Vipers  
will raid land base and shut down systems. No prisoners will be  
taken...  
  
Ivory's throat caught in her mouth. She was going through sensory overload. Her heart beat faster and Ivory could hear the blood rush through her ears. Her breaths became shorter and her entire body felt numb. As Trowa opened the door, Ivory blacked out and papers flew all over the room. She passed out, sheets of pale paper falling slowly from her fingers onto the cold floor.  
  
-------  
  
Sally ran her fingers over the numerous bandages that ran around Ivory's chest. In the moment, Ivory's old wound had reopened and tore. Her heart beat slowly and beads of sweat danced on her forehead. Trowa read over the papers that scattered the room and collected them. He didn't know what order they went in, but the least he could do is make a neat pile. He ignored the request to leave the room and sat at the back of the room watching Sally repair her bleeding chest. Sally continued to examine her entire body, every mark, every scar. She spent a lot of time going over a particular scar in Ivory's abdomen and a mark on her right arm. "What did you find?" Trowa broke the silence abruptly. Sally shook her head. "I think the Barton's operated on her, here," she pointed to her arm, "and here," motioning to her abdomen. "The scars are too perfect to be accidental and they're not too old. Maybe four, five years since it happened." "What do you think happened?" Trowa looked on as Sally pondered a moment and examined them again. "The arm is obvious. That's probably a tracking device or a code. Some kind of Barton identification. Real proof of who she is." Sally hesitated. "And..? The other scar?" Trowa lifted an eyebrow. Sally hesitated for a few more moments. "I think they disconnected her fallopian tubes." Sally didn't meet his eyes. She didn't say more. "So?" "So?! That means she can't ever have children! She's been robbed of a future family! Don't you think that's important?" "They probably did it so she wouldn't get pregnant if she was raped." Sally looked up furiously. She sputtered at Trowa enraged. "That's the lowest thing I've ever seen the Barton's do," she spat, and stormed out of the room. 


	5. Time to Fly

Chapter Four  
  
Ivory woke up alone to the sounds of many voices outside her door. There seemed to be some sort of argument or something. Her head hurt. A lot. Ivory groaned and sat up carefully, working around her bound arm. The file was on her nightstand in some random order. She didn't feel like picking it up again. Too many secrets and monsters lay within its white sheets. Clad in her sweats and T-shirt, she tried to open the door. It was locked, as usual, so she tapped lightly. The knob turned and Wufei poked his head around. He didn't say anything but raised an eyebrow and closed the door again. The voices continued to bicker about whatever and she went back and sat on her bed. Ivory brushed her hair aimlessly and used the bathroom. While Ivory was brushing her teeth, Quatre knocked and came into the room. She nodded at him and rinsed her mouth out.  
  
"How does breakfast sound?" he asked with a smile.  
  
Ivory smiled. "It sounds great." She motioned Quatre to leave the room while she pulled out a pair of jeans and a button down blouse. It was difficult to change with her arm in the sling, but Ivory grit her teeth and bore with the slight pain. She emerged from the room looking fresh and brighter than before. Quatre walked with her to the small room they called a kitchen. Duo winked at her and handed her a plate as Relena talked to Une about some diplomatic issue.  
  
"The peace issue isn't a problem. Things are working out fine but the Preventers are a little behind."  
  
"The Preventers are doing the best they can. We need up to date technology and more employees. Our space shuttles are behind and there're not enough people."  
  
". but don't you think the Preventers should be working harder at it?"  
  
Ivory chose to speak up. "I think that the Preventers are doing all they can. Technology is leaving them in the dust and there isn't a lot they can fix. I think they need to build up an infiltration system and a division of technology in order to even comprehend what's really going on."  
  
Une and Relena stared. Relena looked her up and raised an eyebrow. She turned around haughtily and strolled to Heero's side. "What do YOU know Miss Choi? You've been MIA for the past few years. How would you know? Unless, you're in something we don't know about." Relena sneered and walked away.  
  
Heero winked at Ivory and whispered. "Don't worry; it's just that time of the month. She'll be okay tomorrow." He walked over to her and put an arm around her shoulders. They walked out of the kitchen together and their voices faded away.  
  
Une glanced at Ivory. Ivory seemed rather nonplussed and nonchalant. Une smiled. She could identify with Ivory's spunk. Une and Ivory had a political discussion over breakfast, concerning the free world and the human condition. They seemed to get along well. After a while, Une started to ask her about herself.  
  
"What are you thinking?"  
  
"Why am I here?" Ivory offered no other information and continued to chew her eggs thoughtfully. Une sighed.  
  
"All will be revealed shortly." Une paused. "What do you think about world peace?"  
  
"These are the worst eggs I've ever eaten. True world peace can never be attained. It is people's nature to be in conflict with each other. The idea is ideal but not realistic."  
  
"What about the condition of the world now?" Une asked.  
  
"It won't last." Une waited for more. After a moment, "Peace is something that has to be desired by everyone. But you can never make everyone happy. Someone will always want to be in control, taking advantage of what they can. Eventually, someone will rise up and declare him or herself a supreme ruler. A conflict will break out and it will be quelled quickly. But. that seed of doubt will be planted. 'What if that's how it was meant to be? What if I could take control like that?' And more people will rise against the idea of world peace." Ivory sighed. "That's human nature."  
  
"But don't you believe that the world does want peace? Or has the war been fought in vain?"  
  
"It has. People like the idea of peace but they really don't understand it. Eventually, peace will be thrown aside and the idea discarded for another hundred years. People don't change. Nature doesn't change. Instinct does not change. Peace is optimistic nonsense."  
  
Une thought a moment. "So what do you stand for?"  
  
"Me?" Ivory thought. "My purpose? To survive. To live out my life the way I want it. To help other people. But peace? No, I don't want that."  
  
Une didn't comment for a while. She ruminated on Ivory's words. "How are you going to help people?"  
  
"By protecting them from pain and teaching them to survive."  
  
"Then I have a proposal for you."  
  
-------  
  
Ivory stood in the loading bay of the Preventer building staring up at the five Gundams. At the very end, a white sheet covered another object. As she looked on, the sheet fell and the Halcyon gleamed on its steel perch.  
  
Like all Gundams, it was made with Gundamian alloy and installed with the most recent technology. However, the Halcyon was built during the war and had a better interior structure to prevent collapse. It looked like a gigantic cardinal or some other kind of crested bird. The Halcyon was silver-blue and the alloy was plated on so they appeared to be feathers. The crest on its head was the cockpit and although the eyes were closed, Ivory knew that the deep blue gleam would still be there.  
  
The last time Ivory saw it, the Halcyon was slightly beaten after a space battle, protecting the colony where the remaining Barons were stationed. It had been polished and fixed since then. She smiled, proud of her small Gundam and happy it was safe. She walked around it, examining the exterior with a critical eye. Duo joined her and buffed out part of the wing.  
  
"Wanna take a ride?" Duo jangled a pass key. "I can get you up there, but you have to take me along."  
  
Temptation seized Ivory. She loved to fly her Gundam again. But could she really trust Duo? And if she tried to escape, would the Preventers shoot her beloved bird out of the air? "What about the Preventers?"  
  
"They can shut you down from up there. No escaping for you. I just want to see how this baby flies," he smiled. "I won't touch anything. Just let me look out the window."  
  
She looked at him suspiciously. "What do I owe you?"  
  
Duo smiled like a little kid. "Well, I want a sweet one right here." He patted his left cheek. "Plant a little sucker right here and we can go."  
  
Ivory smiled. He was such a dork. but it was a small price to pay to fly Halcyon again. She sighed and unstrapped her arm from the sling. Ivory leaned over and gave him a tiny little kiss on the cheek and grabbed the pass key. "Let's go!" 


	6. Aerial Pursuit

Chapter Five  
  
Ivory's arm ached but she could tolerate the pain for a short flight. The cockpit was made to fit two people, a pilot and a shooter; however both could be done from the pilot's seat. Duo sat in the beak area, surrounded by beeping radar and uncountable buttons for who knows what purpose. Ivory made him swear on his future children's heads that he wouldn't touch a thing or else he wouldn't have any children. (If you know what I mean.) From the outside, the beak seemed as solid as the rest of the bird, but it was transparent from the inside.  
  
"What's the beak made of?" he yelled up to Ivory.  
  
Ivory stuck her head into Duo's compartment. She had donned a pair of goggles and a pair of gloves. "I think its some kind of special fiberglass. They put reflective stuff on the outside or something. It's pretty strong though. Don't worry." Ivory went back up. If Duo turned around and craned his head up a little, he could see her feet. He heard her talk to whoever was in the control room in the base and the roof opened up. The engines roared and Duo felt a vibration along the sides that he assumed must be the wings opening.  
  
In seconds, the two were airborne. He could see everything from his seat and watched as the Halcyon circled higher into the sky. The Halcyon glided with ease and the usual roar of engines was dulled. He turned around and yelled up again.  
  
"What are we doing?"  
  
Up in the cockpit Ivory had on her helmet and gloves. She let the Halcyon go on autopilot and explained to Duo how the Halcyon worked. The helmet had a digital view screen that was used to aim and had maps and other screens for direction. The gloves had magnets in the fingers and palm that directed the Halcyon on a pad that connected to the helmet screen. It could also be steered manually with levers and buttons like the Gundams. Right now, there was no one for miles around and Ivory just felt like gliding.  
  
The Halcyon was lighter and more flexible than the Gundams. It was about half the size of the Deathscythe and because it was small, used less power. On earth, it glided like a real bird and thus, used even less power. Its speed was impressive and had a lot of maneuverability. Ivory explained that there were extra engines underneath that were used in space, but they were never really used. Space travel wasn't for her.  
  
There was silence between the two for a while. Both just spent time gazing out of the Halcyon and enjoying the feeling of flight. An hour passed and Ivory was starting to slow the Halcyon to pull it into a dive and return to the base.  
  
There was a small beep from the console. A red light turned on and a new screen popped up on Ivory's helmet. She pushed more buttons and called up a few more maps.  
  
"There's someone out there tailing us."  
  
Duo looked up at her and muttered an explicative. "It probably has something to do with that girl who shot you a few days ago." Ivory grimaced and started to fly away from the base.  
  
"We can't let whoever is out there find out where the base is. They'll blow it up for sure." Ivory headed east, toward the ocean. She instructed Duo to put on another helmet that was hidden under his seat and start learning what the controls did. The helmet was quite instructive and gave Duo a tour of the console in front of him. The console beeped again and a visual of the pursuer came into view on the screens. It looked like a dark green and black dragon, not far from Wu Fei's Gundam.  
  
Ivory recoiled. "It's a Serpent!" There was no doubt about it now. The Barton Foundation was truly against her. Question was, were they out to kill her, or capture her?  
  
-------  
  
"Hey guys! Something's happening up there!" Quatre shielded his eyes against the sun and the glint off the Halcyon. The pilots gathered outside and looked at the mysterious Gundam trailing the blue bird. Meanwhile, Trowa jumped into the Heavyarms and took off. 


End file.
